Future directions: challenges, opportunities and limitations

Abstract

The ultimate goal of pharmacogenomic research is to predict individual's responses to drug therapy and subsequently adapt pharmacotherapeutic strategies. Therefore, the current challenge for personalized therapy is to define genetic profiles to predict the response to drugs and the progression of the diseases. However, despite the enormous amount of known information about the genetic basis of variable response to drugs, it has little influence on its application to the current clinical practice, particularly in Latin American region where there is a great genetic admixture. Thus, the present chapter pursues to contribute with a general vision of the future of the area to overcome the proper limitations of this region.